Again From Zero
by NTJW
Summary: Formerly U-17. Love could "Tarundoru" him and slap him in the face and he still wouldn't know what hit him. Set during NPoT; SanadaxOC
1. Chapter 1

Gah... I've been working on this one for a while... just never got around to uploading it... ^^'

All characters but one belong to Konomi Takeshi... I own nothing T.T

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The U-17

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It had been a bitter defeat. He had managed to take one game. Just one. All his returns had been broken. Even _rai_ had been defeated. The only thing that comforted him was the fact that Yukimura hadn't held back. Yukimura had gone full strength to defeat him. He let out a bitter laugh. Did he? He didn't know. How much time had it been? He didn't know. He didn't have a watch. Not that it would have helped if he did. He still couldn't see. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't feel anything. He sensed a presence, his swordsman kicking in. He ignored it. The presence approached him and he swung his sightless eyes towards it. The presence stopped and then continued advancing. He gave up. If the presence wanted to come then let it come. He let out a breath and closed his eyes, tilting his face upwards. He soon grew aware of the sun on his face and the cold hard metal of the bench he sat on. Then, he heard someone singing. Very faintly at first but he heard it. A girl's voice. He opened his eyes and blinked. The sunlight virtually blinded him. He looked towards the source of the singing to find a girl sitting next to him.

She stopped when she saw him looking at her, "Yukimura's tennis is brutal isn't it?"

He opened his mouth to agree but loyalty to his captain got the better of him, "He needs to be."

She laughed, "Of course. I see you have your senses back. I guess I'll go now," she stood up to leave.

He caught her wrist and raised an eyebrow.

She blinked and looked right back into his eyes and smiled, "You make a very easy target."

He studied her for a moment before letting go of her, "Who… are you?"

She stopped walking and turned back to face him, laughing, she said, "No one really," before walking away again.

He wrinkled his brow and stared after her.

..

So… he understood. Well he had been basically deprived of all his senses. It was a wonder no one had tried to bother him yet. He had surprised her when his sightless eyes turned towards her and had focused on her when she approached. How much had his _ki_ reading skills had improved?

..

So that was who had followed him from the courts. He scowled and recalled her features. He had never been attracted to anyone in his life. Oh, the team had its own rumor that he had a thing for Yukimura. So what if they went home together? Yukimura lived right across the street. Besides, two people walking home at six-thirty in the evening was better than one. He had never been attracted to anyone in his life, but somehow, in the back of his mind, it registered that that girl had been strikingly beautiful. Her pale skin, wide dark eyes, long straight raven-black hair. He grudgingly admitted that she was _very_ pretty. Almost like a geisha. But then again what did he know about her?

He sighed and stood up. He turned towards the courts and proceeded towards them. He had been eliminated. He could accept that. It just meant that he had to work harder. Then again, he didn't know if he would be playing tennis after junior high. Maybe high school? He wasn't sure. He picked up his bag and his racket from where he had tossed it in the bleachers. He looked out at the courts. It was a harsh way to pick out the best of the best. Pitting best friends against each other. For that sake, even Seigaku's golden pair was broken up.

Finally, they made the announcement that all the players who had lost were to be shipped back home on the bus that was already waiting for them. Quietly, he got up and took a seat on the bus, the others following suit. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Momoshiro. That giant had taken out both his wrists. He scanned over the players that were on the bus with him. Many complained that it hadn't been a fair game. That this time, the victory had also been bitter.

The complaints went on until, impatient, he called out, "Quit whining."

Someone demanded a rematch and, quite suddenly, the bus stopped in the middle of the road. The doors opened and the bus driver pointed into the forest, "Out."

After they had all filed out with their things, the bus roared away and they were left to negotiate the forest towards which the bus driver had pointed to. It wasn't long before they stumbled into a clearing where the coach from before greeted them. He had a hand on each of the shoulders of the first-year from Seigaku as well as the one from… was it Shitenhouji? It was something of the sort. He glanced around and saw his fellow tennis players had a hopeful, fragile expression on their faces.

He vaguely heard the coach say, "From here on out, my real work begins."

His eyes flashed. It wasn't over. He still had a chance.

Someone asked, "Didn't we get kicked out because we lost?"

"You did. However, for those who don't want such a gap to exist between themselves and those who won, why don't you see if you can climb this cliff?" the coach gestured at the massive stone precipice behind him.

He shrugged, it was better than giving in. He set his pack more firmly on his shoulder and began the ascent with the other regulars. He went on climbing for a while, ignoring Niou's imitation of Atobe and the issue with Momoshiro. He sensed something falling in his direction, fast. He looked up and, reaching out an arm, caught Koharu. It took all of his self-control not to let go when the guy looked up at him admiringly and said, "Such valiance."

He swallowed his near-disgust, "I won't let a single one of you lose in this."

..

"They should be here by now… unless ojii is being harsh on them…" she stood at the edge of the forest, looking up at the sky.

..

They continued climbing until Niou, squinting at the sky, said, "Say, are those tennis balls?"

Indeed they were tennis balls. All of the regulars who were able pulled a racket out of their bags and managed to return one. He watched the tennis balls go soaring back onto the cliff.

Just as he was about to mount the cliff, he heard Ryoma, "Don't worry about it… no need for you guys to get it… I got them all for you."

He smirked, that cocky first-year. He stood on the edge of the cliff and heard the first-year from Shintenhouji, "Hey, Koshimae. This place is kind of interesting too, don't you think?" He looked up and saw the boy hanging recklessly from the branch of a tree by his knees. The other tennis players, the ones who were eliminated before from the tennis ball drop, dressed from head to toe in black looked flabbergasted.

"You're late," the coach grumbled, "You brats."

..

She almost laughed when she saw the boy hanging from the tree. He looked so comical there. She had heard their yelling before she saw them. When all of them managed to scramble atop the cliff, they made a rather imposing picture. That boy from before, with the hat, sitting there dull and senseless; he wasn't senseless now. He stood there; his legs spread apart, his tennis bag slung casually over his shoulder, his arms crossed. He didn't even look winded. The other boys stood around and almost behind him, a mosaic of different schools. Altogether, with the first-year squatting down front with his tennis racket out, these boys looked extremely impressive.

..

So that's the end for now... I'll try to update every once in a while... I need to get better at that oAo;

but yeah... since the manga updates like... two chapters a month... I may or may not be able to crank something out by then... it depends...

Read/Review! :D


	2. Chapter 2

So the last two chapters of New Prince of Tennis were a bit... dramatic? I don't know how else to say it... This chapter was an ABSOLUTE PAIN to hack out but meh... I tried =\

I own absolutely nothing... everything goes to Konomi Takeshi... except for one character...

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Heaven or Hell

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He had never been so frustrated in his life. Then again it was only a jersey. But still… He chewed on his lip. He quite honestly thought that this was the craziest person he had ever met, including the coaches he had had. Sure, he had slapped his teammates when they lost, but that wasn't as bad as the coach of Hyoutei who dismissed someone from the team for losing. Neither of them had ever made the losers camp out in a stone cave at night. Nor had they ever buried the losers jerseys two meters underground and taken a piss on them.

He never would have admitted the fact that he was somewhat sore from the exercise this afternoon. Kendo may have helped to improve his build and concentration, but kendo was not digging a two-meter deep hole with his bare hands and a shovel. Kendo was not being hit in the gut with a high-speed tennis serve, nor was it climbing a stone cliff after playing a set against Yukimura.

He gave props to Renji and his old doubles partner from Seigaku. The uneven, rocky court had duped the best of them, but it wasn't impossible. If it were impossible, then the high-schoolers should be sleeping in the cave with them. Then again, it was a form of motivation, so he guessed it was somewhat acceptable. Besides, he often threatened to slap himself if he failed to accomplish a task. Of course… it was motivation. He stared at the stone roof of the cave.

..

"Ne, oyaji… that was mean," she pouted.

"What? That ought to teach those brats a lesson," the man hiccupped.

She blinked, 'Drunk old man,' she thought. She continued to hang up the wet clothes.

"I'm surprised those two managed to have the court figured out," he continued.

"What?"

"The two weird-lookin-ones. The one with the glasses and the one that never opens his eyes," he mused.

"Oh," she put a blue and white jacket on a hanger.

"Hah! Sure gave that big guy a surprise. I don't even think that guy's in junior high," he snorted, "Must've failed a year somewhere."

"Who?" now it was a green and yellow jacket.

"That brat with the baseball cap. Not that idiot rookie, the other one. I'll bet that dimwit's still winded from Sasabe's serve," he gave a harsh laugh.

She stared at the orange jacket in her hands and at the irksomely neat handwriting on the collar tag that read, "Sanada Genichirou."

..

He awoke with a start. Had it been Momoshiro's snoring that woke him? No. It was something else. Someone, or rather, something, you never knew what you could find in a cave, had shaken him.

He propped himself up on his elbows, starting slightly when he saw a dark, shadowy figure sitting next to him.

"Wh-" he started to say, but was cut off by a hand over his mouth.

"Shh," he could dimly see the figure put a finger to its lips, "Be quiet, would you?"

He blinked and opened his mouth to protest that, no, he would not be quiet, that he refused to stay quiet when some stranger put their hand over his mouth and told him to be quiet. The figure pulled his shirt up to reveal his toned, well-muscled chest. He shut his mouth in surprise at both the action and at the sharp sting of cold in the night. His stomach muscles tensed and he winced. That's right, that one serve had caught him squarely in the abdomen.

..

She restrained herself from gasping at the sight. She put a hand to her mouth when she saw the ugly bruise spreading over his abs. She heard him hiss in pain.

She extended her hand and ran her fingers gently over the discoloration, clear in the moonlight.

..

His eyes widened when the figure reached out and touched him. The touch was so soft, so gentle; he didn't feel the pain as the hand ran over the bruise. He looked up at the figure, searching where he assumed to be its face for its eyes.

..

His expression as he stared into her face, with its widened eyes and speechless surprise, made him seem, for once, like the fifteen-year-old he was. She smiled softly, comforted by the fact that he couldn't see her for who she was. She reached down to her side for a small jar. She carefully unscrewed the lid and dabbed her fingers into the ointment.

..

The salve was cold and he willed himself not to tense up again. Doing so would only cause him more pain. His shirt was replaced and he was gently pushed back to lie flat again. The last thing he remembered was wondering vaguely what the salve would do for him, after all, it was only a bruise...

The next thing he knew, that crazy coach was banging on a steel pot, ordering them to run in the rain. It was not 4:30 in the morning... it must have been 2 or 3 Despite that, since he habitually woke up at what everyone else called an "ungodly hour", he was one of the few who at least looked awake. The morning wore on.

"Oi! Emperor!" a mocking voice broke into his concentration in the middle of a workout, "We're doing sit-ups next!"

He blinked, uncomprehending until another voice spoke up.

"Say, Sanada, didn't Sasabe hit you with a serve yesterday?" it was Renji, "And if I recall, it wasn't a light hit either."

He wrinkled his brow and took a moment to recall who Sasabe was.

..

Renji opened his eyes to see the bemused expression on his friend's face give way to something that could almost be considered a smile. He studied his vice-captain's expression critically before closing his eyes again. As Kintarou said, this place... was very, very interesting.

Inui came up to his old double's partner, "Ii data."

..

She couldn't help hesitating when she felt that ripple of muscle beneath his skin when she first applied the ointment. How was she to know that he had built himself up so much? At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder if he had somehow realized who she was. No, it was useless to foster that hope. He had probably long since forgotten...

..

muahahaha! a cliffy! I actually didn't mean for it to turn out this way... but it did so I guess there's nothing I can do about it? ^^'

On another note... yay~ I updated! This is probably one of the shortest chapters i've ever written... for anything... but anyways, like I said, this chapter was pretty hard to write so I hope it came out ok... let me know what you think?

Read/Review! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! sorry for the late update D: school and AP testing killed me... actually... not just AP testing... standardized testing in general killed me ^^' heh... so much for trying to keep up with an upload-schedule... me=FAIL

Copyrights as usual, don't belong to me T.T

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Run

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It wasn't until late that morning that Ryoma and the other two returned.

"Yeah, this cliff thing is on the U-17 training grounds!"

He smirked.

"You don't seem surprised," Renji appeared at his elbow.

He raised his eyebrows.

Renji chuckled, "Alright. By the way, you still haven't answered my question from earlier."

He snorted, shook his head, and walked away.

..

"You can't just run! Run in zig-zags! It's harder for them to catch you that way!"

"But I can't run in zig-zags! I can only run straight!"

He wiped the sweat off his brow. That last statement had come as a desperate wail. Tired and out of breath as he was, he couldn't help but snort. He split off from the rest of the group and abandoned the trail, plunging headlong into the forest. _How the heck do you live for that long and not know how not to run straight?_

..

He heard the telltale sound of feathers and took a sharp turn to the left, leaping over a low-lying branch. He then continued in the same direction for a time before veering off towards the right. He paused and leaned against a tree. He was keenly aware of the roughness of the bark under his hand as he bent over to catch his breath. The ground swung in a dizzy arc before him and he shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the feeling to pass. He straightened up. His heartbeat had slowed to a reasonable pace and he was no longer gasping for air.

"Hey! Lazy, half-assed idiot!"

He groaned inwardly, gritting his teeth.

"Just because you're in the forest doesn't mean you're safe!"

He tilted his head back and stared at a piece of sky through the leaves of the trees.

"Actually, forget I told ya! I hope you get killed soon!" a bout of drunken laughter followed this outburst.

He looked back down again and sighed. Once again, the sound of wings roused him from his thoughts and he ran. Not far ahead, he saw a bright spot that could only signify the presence of another path. As soon as he stepped out of the protection of the trees the shrill cries seemed to multiply as well as the sound of flapping feathers. He almost rolled his eyes as he started running down the path.

Barely thinking, he jumped over Kabaji's still form and continued on his way. He passed a small waterfall and the briefest thought of washing up crossed his mind before he ran on.

..

His feet pounded on the rock-solid, baked ground as he panted, looking for some refuge from the merciless sun. He turned a corner around a waterfall and breathed a sigh of relief, that is, he would have if he weren't already winded from running around. He barely managed to wedge himself into the corner between a tree and the cliff without popping his balloon.

Under normal circumstances, he would have at least stopped for a drink or splashed his face with the cool, refreshing water. Then again, these were anything but normal circumstances. He had gotten over the feeling of running around like an idiot in order to escape hawks. He was 5'11", fifteen years old and yet here he was worrying about a balloon tied to his waist being popped by a bird. Not to mention that the balloon hanging from his body looked absolutely ridiculous bobbing up and down on its string.

He congratulated himself for finding a strip of shade and cool rock that would be out of reach of the pesky raptors.

"What the heck were you aiming for? You missed that by a mile!"

"Mada mada dane."

He turned his head in the direction of the conversation and watched with a detached amusement as Ryoma and Kentarou began targeting the high schoolers' balloons with makeshift slingshots and chestnuts.

He tilted his head back, letting the sunlight hit his face under his cap.

"Oi you!"

Without moving his body, he turned his eyes towards the shrill, boisterous voice.

"Yeah, you!"

Sanada really did roll his eyes this time, "What?"

"Come out here, I got something to show you!"

He pushed his back away from the wall of stone behind him. Glancing towards the two rookies and their deadly projectiles, he stepped out of his shelter.

"Haha! I got you now haven't I?" the high schooler cackled while holding up a sharpened stick.

Sanada raised his eyebrows, "A bit low isn't that?"

"I, Sasabe, will not lose to the likes of a middle school student like you!"

He turned away and looked to see the height of the sun and silently thanked that crazy coach-whatever that the middle school uniforms were not black.

Sasabe lunged at him, pointing the stick towards his balloon.

Sanada almost yawned. He watched with satisfaction the astonished look on the other's face, or what he assumed would be an astonished look, after all, Sanada couldn't see his face, he was behind Sasabe. It was amusing to see the high schooler look frantically left and right, searching for his would-be victim. Sanada decided it was time to put him out of his misery, "Swift like the wind."

Sasabe once again tried to pop his balloon.

Sanada stepped back and eyed him coolly, "You know, they're going after your balloon."

"What?" a confused look crossed the face of the other, "Haha, those stupid hawks. I washed my balloon off already so those stupid birds won't be going after me anymore! You know? I think I'm just going to stand here and wait until they pop your balloon."

No sooner was this said then a hawk screeched. Sasabe looked up to see the unfortunate raptor fly away with a chestnut in his mouth. Then, a loud pop brought his eyes to the string that had the remaining shreds of a balloon attached to it falling to his feet. His eyes widened when he saw Sanada's balloon floating languidly behind its owner. Sasabe opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again before falling over in a dead faint.

Sanada sighed before turning away and running back into the forest.

..

"Didn't ojii tell you to get out of the woods?"

He looked into the tree to see a girl sitting there. He scowled slightly, "You."

The girl looked down at him from her perch and silently regarded him, "What about me?"

"Why are you here?"

The girl jumped down from the tree. She had no balloon tied to her waist.

_She's not here for the U-17… even if she was they wouldn't let a girl in…_

_.._

He looked so comical standing there, trying to figure the situation out, scowling like there was no tomorrow.

"Be careful Sanada-san, if you scowl too much you'll get wrinkles," she said lightly before turning away.

..

_If she's here, then that means…_

"You know how to figure out this huntsmen's thing without cheating right?"

She turned back and raised her eyebrows, "And what if I do?"

"What is it?"

She smiled before chuckling, "That's easy Sanada-san. Run."

..

As he returned to the courts, the coach popped his balloon and yanked the string off of him. Sanada gripped his tennis racket. _Time for some real tennis_.

He shook his head of the conversation from the forest, now wasn't the time to be so unfocused, "Come on, Genichirou, use your head, now's not the time for this," he growled to himself. Try as he might, he couldn't erase the image of her long black hair stirring slightly with the breeze or how she mysteriously disappeared into the trees, "Some sort of forest spirit or something," he muttered again, "Singing and appearing in the middle of the night," he grumbled.

..

Renji and Inui looked at each other and shrugged.

Renji raised his eyebrows. There was something going on with his fuku-buchou and he was determined to find out what it was.

..

Hey, sorry for the long wait everyone! I like how I tend to end with Renji and Inui plotting something or other, they just seem to have a good "the end, until next time" mood around them.

ojii - old man

fuku-buchou - vice captain

Read/Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hahaa~ yess~... even though I _should_ be studying for ACTs... the heck with that... (watch me totally fail...)

I own nothing... as usual... except... yeah...

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Let's Go

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He lay on the grass, gazing up at the stars. His hat lay on the ground beside him, momentarily forgotten.

"It's nice isn't it? To be able to see the stars up here."

He looked over. It was that girl again, "You."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Every person's energy feels different."

"Ah."

"What are you doing here?"

She turned towards him, "Here as in here outside? Or here as in at the U-17?"

"Both."

"I'm here because I have to be. And… it's nice and clear today, why shouldn't I be out here?" she replied in a matter-of-a-fact tone.

He nodded slightly. He had always relied on his eyes and his gestures to do the talking for him, and now that he was in a situation where visual communication didn't work, he felt a little out of his element. He took a breath, "I see."

She lay down next to him, "You did well today."

He snorted, raised his eyebrows, then mentally cursed himself for forgetting that his expressions were useless in the dark, "Do tell," he deadpanned.

"You didn't trip…"

Sanada winced slightly. On that first unexpected morning training run he had managed to stumble badly over a protruding root. _Or was it a rock?_ Who knew? It was too dark to tell anyways.

"You didn't lose your temper…"

He remembered throwing his racket on the ground and almost breaking it before he had thought better of it.

"You didn't have to stop and catch your breath…"

He grimly remembered the first sportsman hunt when he had paused at sporadic intervals to take a breather or escape the heat.

"Your bruise healed… right?"

He almost nodded again, "Yeah, it's fine now."

They lay there in amiable silence before she stood up, "Sayounara, Sanada-kun. I'll see you around later."

He sat up and caught her wrist in his hand, "Wait."

He saw her silhouette pause expectantly.

"Thank you," he let go of her. He prayed she knew what he meant. He didn't want to have to explain as he had already spoken more than was customary for him.

"For… ?"

His hope fell. He cleared his throat, "Opening my eyes to the fact that I've improved."

She chuckled, "Is that formal tone necessary when you talk to an old friend?"

He blinked, surprised, "What?"

She knelt down in front of him and leaned closer, scrutinizing his features with a curious expression on her face, "You really don't remember, do you? Genichirou…"

He blinked, almost comforted by the fact that he could, once again, allow his expressions to speak for themselves.

She smiled and stood up, "Never mind. See you later."

He stared after her, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

..

_Stupid coach_. He smashed the ball into the court. _He tells us that we're not up to par and then he refuses to teach us._ Sure, he had beaten the sportsman hunt but still, what the hell was that so-called "coach" doing here if he refused to coach them?

Alright, maybe it was coaching, but Sanada personally thought that this sort of "coaching" was closer to a combination of his own standards and those of his kendo dojo.

He shook his head and then stopped. It seemed like he was shaking his head a lot these days…

After all this time there he had silently accepted that there was some improvement… that idiot could run in zig-zags now after all…

He stared at the ongoing doubles match before he snorted and walked off. Renji would bug him about this later, he knew, but he had to try something… had to test something out for himself…

"You five," he stared down at the high schoolers lounging in front of the cabin, "I have a request."

..

He turned his eyes away from the winded tennis players on the court. _That wasn't so bad… and they make such a big deal out of it…_

It had been easy for him. Toss the balls up in the air. Watch carefully. _Which one's coming down first?_ Angle the racket and send it flying. Twist around. _Where was that one?_ Rotate the racket. Send it off with a nice popping sound. _Next one._ Use the handle this time. _There was one that went behind…_ Swing the racket. Turn around at the same time. Just like kendo, remember? _Ah, that one, right in front._ Last one now. Draw the sword from the scabbard.

Too bad his opponents were already gasping for air. He wanted to relive that sensation, that feeling of exhilaration when everything slowed down and, for the briefest of seconds, he could see clearly. It was like watching a play-by-play and knowing what was going to happen next. He pushed his hat more securely onto his head and sighed before walking away.

..

He found Ryoma lying on the grass, evidently pondering the day's events. He sat down next to the boy, "It's not like you to be sulking."

"Mind your own business."

Sanada smirked, how predictable, "Did you lose?"

"I said mind your own business."

He glanced at the rookie, "Fine, but listen up. We came here to get stronger."

Out of the corner of his eye he watched the cocky first year sit up at his words, "True."

"That coach's training was probably the ultimate shortcut."

"But he still wouldn't teach me."

A wicked light gleamed in his eye and he almost chuckled at the thought of it, "That's why we're going to go take all his sake."

Sanada stood up and noted the satisfied smirk across the boy's face.

"We're coming with you."

He and Ryoma turned around to see the high schoolers.

"We're betting on you guys."

..

The light of the bonfire flickered in his eyes and winked off the empty sake bottles on the ground.

"Are you sure this is enough?"

He cast his eyes to the sleeping coach on the ground.

"Hey."

Sanada raised an eyebrow. _So much for being asleep._

"You came here just to take my sake?" the coach growled.

The students visibly shifted away.

"Well," the gruff man sat up and stretched, "I've never liked those elite coaches who do the easy jobs."

He watched as the firelight made his fellow tennis players' eyes glitter with a hard light.

The coach lifted a burning branch from the flame, "Let's go get'em!"

..

She hauled the enormous duffel bag on her back, grumbling all the while, "Stupid oyaji… making me carry all these… like he couldn't carry them himself…" she continued.

She stopped by the gate, "Oni-senpai, open up, it's me."

The high schooler looked momentarily surprised, "It's time?"

She nodded.

..

So consider this making up for the good two or three months without updates? Thanks for all the alerts and faves!

Read/Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

So... since New Prince of Tennis is going kinda slowly right now (at least for Sanada and the rest of them...) I decided to hack out a chapter as a treat for all you readers! :D

All belongs to Konomi Takeshi... except one person... and the screwed up plot-line xD

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500 Yen

..

She quietly slid the jacket onto the hanger and hung it in the closet.

"Need help?"

She glanced towards the open door and continued at her task, "What are you doing here? Aren't there ranking matches going on?"

The tall teenager shrugged, "Coach Saitou told me to come up and check on you. Besides, my match won't start for a while."

She placed the neatly folded red and black uniforms on the unused beds, "Really now?" she flashed him a grin.

The boy chuckled, "Of course," he hefted the duffel bag and raised his eyebrows, "This is pretty heavy…"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Exactly," she pushed a cart with two enormous cardboard boxes on it to the next room.

"You want help or not?"

She smiled and shook her head in a manner that said, _No-but-you're-going-to-do-it-anyway-so-I-won't-say -anything._

The boy smiled and shut the door before walking after her.

..

Sanada packed his tennis rackets carefully back into his bag. He gingerly ran a hand over his abdomen. True, the bruise had long since disappeared but the ghost of_her_ _touch_ still remained.

..

She shut the door and sighed, "Yup that was the last room."

"My game starts pretty soon. I should go warm up."

"Then why don't you?"

He nonchalantly threw an arm over her shoulder, "You going to come and cheer for me?"

She rolled her eyes, "I guess so. It's not like there's much else to do."

"Alright then," he removed his arm and began walking away, "See you there. I'll be expecting it," and put his hands in his pockets.

On a whim, she caught up to him and kissed him on the cheek, "That was for luck," she winked.

He blinked, "Since when did you do that?"

She laughed, "Since when did you pay attention to what I do, Kazuya-kun?"

"For a while now," he gave a small smirk, "I'll be going now. See you there."

She watched his retreating form with curiosity before returning to the empty cart.

..

Inui pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "I'd say 82.7% chance that he's bothered about improving; 10% that he's frustrated; and the remaining percentage is other."

Renji wrinkled his eyebrows, "Other… ?"

"Like his match with Yukimura, a girl, the injury, etc."

If Renji could have visibly blinked, he very likely would have at that point, "Fukubuchou? A girl? Are you and I talking about the same Sanada?"

Inui scowled, "Data is data."

"Data won't lie," they both said.

"500 yen," Renji raised an eyebrow.

"500 it is."

..

Yay! Finally an update! Thanks for all the Reviews and Alerts and whatnot! They're greatly appreciated! n.n

btw... for those who don't know... Kazuya = Tokugawa Kazuya who appears in chapter 3 page 13 of New Prince of Tennis... the intimidating one that scares Kirihara half to death...

Read/Review PLEASE (and thank you~)


	6. Chapter 6

So so so sorry for the late update! writer's block is a paiinn... and so are AP exams... plus the chapters are coming out kinda slowly...

I own one character... everything else belongs to konomi takeshi

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Back From Hell

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She stared at the courts. It was easy to see why 5th Court had won. After all, it was Oni-senpai's team. Then again there was also Yamato-senpai… but what was done was done. She looked around, "Kazuya-kun!" She made her way to the familiar figure.

"Looks like you won't get to see me play today," he smirked.

"Why not?"

He looked momentarily surprised, "Don't you remember what happened last year?"

"That's right," she laughed, "You came down from the mountains looking like a family of mad tanukis got you."

"You know what Mifune-san's coaching is like," he said with an air of disdain.

She giggled, "I know. It's just fun to do that to you," she stretched slightly, "So, now for the new 2nd Court."

"Yup," he ran a hand through his hair, "Oni's opened the gates," he gave a humorless chuckle, "We're finally gonna have some fun now."

..

_They had to choose black._ It wasn't that he was complaining. Far from it. Sanada Genichirou was glad to be back in this world. He was glad to be here. He was glad to have been given a second chance. But… they just had to choose black for the uniforms. Why couldn't it have been orange? The jacket he had on was reminiscent of Fudomine. _At least it wasn't blue… or green… or yellow for that matter…_

He squinted at the courts with his good eye. After his time on the cliff he was unaccustomed to seeing the crisp lines, the sharp color contrasts and the flatness of the courts here. He wanted to snort when the high schoolers tried to hit them with the tennis balls.

Tanishi came flying through the air just as Sanada made to pull out his racket. _Miracle…_ It didn't matter how many times he had seen it happen. It was still a miracle to see someone of that size _flying_.

He flinched slightly when Kenya darted into the midst of the stunned players. If there was anything he hated more than loss of honor it was being needlessly frightened by something… especially if that something came out of his now-expanded blind spot.

A figure with long black hair in the bleachers caught his attention. A quick glance into the stands told him that it wasn't Coach Saitou. Something else clicked in the back of Sanada's mind: the fact that he knew who the figure was. He ignored it. Or did he? He shook his head. If that person wasn't a Coach (he could care less about the surveillance cameras) then he could probably pull something off without getting in trouble. He was itching to play at least a set with someone that hadn't been on the cliff.

He pulled his racket out, "How about I take you all on by myself?"

..

Tokugawa let his breath out with a whooshing noise, "Here they come."

_What the heck happened to them?_ She singled out the one with rectangular glasses who was wrapped up like a mummy, the one with bandages across his face but both eyes unscratched, and… Sanada, "What does Coach Mifune do to you guys on the last few days again?"

He grinned, "That, Yuu-chan, is a secret," he waved, "See you later; there's someone I want to talk to."

"See ya," she smiled as she watched him approach the rookie middle-schooler.

She stared in the direction of the cliff. _That crazy coach better have remembered to take those jerseys out… If he doesn't, they'll never dry…_

..

I know I know... that ended on a really weird note... sorry!

Read/Review please! (constructive criticism welcomed! and there's probably a lot worth criticizing here...)


	7. Chapter 7

OMG SO SO SORRY FOR THE DELAYY D:

college and drama has been so stressful T.T

as usual, Konomi Takeshi owns all PoT characters (wahh)

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Shelter

..

Sanada observed his surroundings once again. It had seemed like ages since he had a room with beds, pillows, blankets, and indoor plumbing. His roommates were nowhere to be found. He pulled the towel off from around his shoulders and began drying his hair. He picked his hat off the bed where he had tossed it before taking a bath. He winced slightly. He had had that hat since elementary school, a gift from a friend.

He heard someone pounding on his door and he stood up to answer it. He had scarcely unlocked the door when it burst open and someone jumped in before slamming the door shut. Sanada barely managed to avoid being hit full in the face by the door only to have several silken strands of long black hair brush across his face. He stared at the intruder and his eyes widened before he blinked.

..

She was running down the hallway, looking for a door that was shut, dodging pillows that were aimed haphazardly or deflected and came pelting in her direction. Her logic was that whoever was not participating in the pillow fight had to be reasonable enough for peace and quiet to shelter her. She started pounding on a door, thinking that if whoever was on the other side didn't open up soon, she would break it down herself.

As soon as she heard the telltale rasp of the lock sliding back, she shoved open the door and darted in before forcibly shutting the door. She felt the impact of a pillow through the door behind her. She had been looking down to catch her breath when she noticed that the person who had so kindly unlocked the door was standing in front of her. She slowly lifted her gaze to his face, trying her best to ignore the fact that he was shirtless. She swallowed.

..

She seemed almost as surprised as he was, "Sanada…"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Pillow-fight outside," a thud was heard against his door as if to prove her statement.

"Ah," Sanada began heading towards what was presumably his bed. He placed his hat on his desk, he had neglected to put it down when he answered the door, and pulled a clean shirt on, "How long do you think it will last?" he looked down at her.

She opened her mouth and was about to answer when she heard someone outside.

"Whoever's in there! Don't think you can hide!" no sooner was this said than the door opened and a pillow came flying through.

..

She had turned around at the voice and realized, too late, what was going to happen. She instinctively shrank up and braced for the impact…

… that never came. She felt it dully _through_ something: Sanada. It was then that she was made aware of their close proximity. His arm was gently, but firmly around her shoulders, holding her against his chest. She looked up at him, straight into his eyes, "You forgot to lock the door," was his simple, flat statement before he let go of her and turned toward the door.

She followed after him, curious as to what he would do. She felt slightly dazed at his abruptness. It was almost as though nothing had happened.

..

Sanada yanked the door open and was surprised to discover a crowd huddled in the hallway, no doubt to see what his reaction would be.

He distinctly heard one of them say, "Aw shit… Kirihara you are SO dead."

To which Kirihara snapped, "We're ALL dead."

He glared at them.

"Fuku-buchou! I'M SOSOSOSOSO SORRYY but… but…" Kirihara trailed off.

Sanada stared at him.

Kirihara looked away, "… can I get my pillow?" to which Sanada shut the door. Kirihara wailed, "I just threw the pillow in! I didn't pay attention to who was inside!"

Sanada reappeared at the door holding a pillow, scowling, "TARUNDORU!" and pitched it at the crowd, which scattered immediately. He came back inside, sighed and rolled his eyes. He shut the door, to find that she had been standing behind it, out of sight of the curious mob, "You should probably stay in here until this is over."

She looked up at him and smiled.

..

oh I've got more planned for these two muahaha

I'll try to update ASAP but that probably won't happen until I'm done with a bunch of papers... x.x

Read/Review please! ^^


	8. Chapter 8

OMG I'm sosososososo sorry about how late this update is! I had to take a pharmtech certification exam which is probably why this took so long... (ie. me trying to come up with excuses for myself)

Disclaimer: I own one person :P

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First Aid

..

Sanada felt a strange sensation inside his chest when she smiled at him. It was as though his heart had tripped over itself and forgot to beat. He turned as if to head deeper into the room. He paused, turned back, stared at her for a second, reached over and very pointedly locked the door.

He walked back into the room and sat down at the desk, running a hand over his face. He winced slightly as he pulled the eye-patch off. She leaned over slightly, trying to get a look at his face. He couldn't help but notice how her black hair fell around her face in glossy strands.

She studied his face for a moment, "You do know you have a first-aid kit in the closet right?"

He turned to her and blinked. Or rather, winked his one good eye at her. She smiled and shook her head, walking back to the closet.

..

Really, he hadn't changed a bit. Stern, but kind-hearted. And he still yelled "tarundoru" at anyone who tried his patience. It… reassured her in a strange way, to know that he was, in part, still the Sanada she had known.

She slid open the closet door and reached for the top shelf. Suddenly, a hand came up from behind her and took the small, clear plastic box before she could react. She put her hands on her hips and spun around with a huff, about to admonish the perpetrator only to see that he had his back to her, inspecting the first aid kit and heading over to his desk.

She walked over and snatched the first aid kit out of his hands as soon as he was seated. "That's what you get for scaring the living daylights out of me," she snapped at his bewildered expression, "How do you manage to move without making any noise anyways?"

..

Sanada had predicted that she would have trouble reaching the top shelf… not that he would ever have admitted to himself. To him, he was… curious, that there was a first aid kit… curious as to how he had missed seeing it. That's right, he almost shook his head, he was curious.

He never meant to frighten her. He had noted how her height brought her hand just short of the distance needed to reach the elusive box which, she probably couldn't even see from where she was standing. To say that he had been surprised at her actions would have been an understatement. When she stole the small container as he was reading it, the most he could do, was stare at her and blink owlishly.

He raised an eyebrow at her outburst, "I apologize," Sanada wrinkled his eyebrows. While he hadn't exactly been _stealthy_ with his movements, he definitely hadn't been _noiseless_…

..

She rolled her eyes, "Now sit still," she scowled lightly at him.

Sanada raised his eyebrows slightly.

Anyone else who happened to see that expression would have said that he was bored. She grumbled a little bit, "You can't see your own eye, now can you?"

He nodded numbly, as if unsure what to make of her.

"Well then, sit still," she commanded, pushing him slightly to sit back in his chair. She carefully cleaned off the cuts on his eyelid before applying another patch of dry gauze onto his eye while he pulled the eye-patch back on. She smiled when she caught his eye, "Don't worry, I'm almost done."

..

Sanada had kept his good eye riveted on her during the entire process. The way she moved was so—graceful. He had to work hard to keep from looking away in embarrassment when she had caught him staring. Sanada Genichirou was never embarrassed… at least not in these types of situations. No, Sanada Genichirou was not one to be easily embarrassed—

"What do you guys think you're doing!? Do a seiza! All of you until dawn!" the yell from one of the directors in the hallway came as he was pulling on the eye-patch to hold the gauze in place. Sanada was grateful for the excuse to look away from her.

"I guess, it's safe to go outside now," she laughed easily, a pleasant sound, he decided.

He looked up at her from his seat and nodded, a small smirk of amusement graced his features as he thought of the rest of the tennis players sitting in a seiza until morning.

..

I FINALLY UPDATED! o.o

Again, sorry for the long wait! (and the shortness of the chapter, I just realized...)

Read/Review please!


	9. Chapter 9

Whoops, forgot to double-check some of the info... heh... Anyways, so so sorry for the long break! x.x There's been a lot of stuff going on and a lot of things that I still need to figure out but I wanted to write this out for you guys!

I own one character. Who, as of now is known as "Yuu-chan." Some of you may have noticed that you never actually found out her name... ;P

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Preparation

..

"Are you sure you're going to be okay tomorrow?"

"Really, Yuu-chan. You should know better than to distract me like this," Tokugawa responded lightly before slowly letting himself down from his handstand.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "It takes more than _that_ to throw _your_ focus off," she said as she approached him.

He gave her a smirk as he straightened up, "Says the one who watched me topple over and face-plant when you came to visit," he took a moment to take in her appropriately and exaggeratedly horrified expression, "And then proceeded to ask me if I was alright while crying tears of laughter."

"Really…" her eyes danced with amusement, "If you could have seen your face right as you were falling…"

He sat down on the hardwood floor and thought about it for a moment and ended up with a mental picture of any one of his friends in that precarious position. Their faces set the picture of fierce concentration and determination before melting into sheer helpless terror and dismay. He chuckled a little, "I do see what you mean."

"Houou-senpai is returning tomorrow," she took a seat next to him.

"I know," he said with a sigh.

She looked up at him, "Will you be alright?"

Tokugawa ran his fingers through his sweat-damp hair, "It'll be fine," _I hope._

_.._

Sanada sat at the desk in his room, contemplating the different scenarios that could play out tomorrow. The high schoolers were arranging some kind of "welcome party" for the returning representative players. The coach on the cliff had hinted something about the middle-schoolers assembling their own "welcome party," to which Sanada himself had acquiesced.

He ought to have been making a list of the national league players, studying them, analyzing their playing styles, and trying to match up those he thought best suited from the middle-schoolers to play against them. That was what he ought to have been doing. Instead, he found his thoughts wandering to the previous night as he ran a hand over the scars on his eyelid.

Not that Sanada's thoughts wandered often. He was very focused; very diligent when he wanted to be. But lately… lately, he found himself distracted… It wasn't an unwelcome distraction; he had come to recognize at least that. Despite this, it was a distraction nonetheless. _She. _He corrected himself. _She is a distraction._ A most unusual distraction that did not seem to diminish his tennis-playing abilities. That was what perturbed him. A distraction that was just… well… there.

He jerked around when he heard a rustle. A paper had been slid under his door. Sanada stood from his desk to retrieve it, wondering just what it would be. It was a table of the names of middle schoolers lined up with some names he didn't recognize but guessed were the U-17 Japan Representatives. The doubles and singles as well as locations of each court were clearly outlined and everything was written in very neat, well-aligned characters. Sanada took all this in quickly as his eyes scanned the paper. Then, almost without thinking, he opened the door and stepped outside, finding someone he knew was there but for some reason, against his logic, wanted to confirm.

..

Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu both stared at him.

"This," Renji gestured at the paper, "How did you come up with all this?"

Inui pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "It's quite well put-together."

"I'm surprised, fuku-buchou."

Sanada snorted. Renji? Surprised? Lies.

"Sanada-san, why did you put Oishi and Niou up against the twins?" Yanagi raised an eyebrow cryptically at his former vice-captain.

He shrugged.

..

"_Niou-san has his ability to become anyone. He can be Kikumaru-san for Oishi-san. And if that doesn't work, I'm sure they'll figure something out. They're smart," she explained, "The twins' specialty is synchro and since Kikumaru-san and Oishi-san are the strongest we have at that…" she waved a hand in the air, gesturing to emphasize her logic._

_Sanada had raised his eyebrows at her._

_She shrugged, "You ought to check with your two data-tennis players tomorrow. They'll have done their research. I just did a rough outline, somewhere to start."_

..

"It's a rough outline," Sanada responded gruffly.

"Well, it does give us a good starting point, Sadaharu."

"Indeed."

Sanada nodded curtly before he pulled on the front of his baseball cap and took their leave.

"This isn't Sanada's handwriting," Inui stated flatly as soon as the aforementioned was out of earshot.

"Some of it is," Renji answered while comparing the chart to his data, "Although, I don't know anyone who's handwriting looks like this," he jabbed at the names written in the boxes.

"A girl who knows tennis?"

Yanagi paused in his examination of his notebook to see his friend's creepy, triumphant grin, "I'm not paying you until he actually says something, Sadaharu."

..

Thank you for reading!

**I have a question for all of you, so please respond!** Do you guys want a love triangle? Or do you want me to give Sanada a break? xD Let me know!

R/R Please and thank you!


	10. Chapter 10

YAY FOR TEN CHAPTERS! THANK YOU GUYS FOR STICKING WITH ME SO FAR/HOPEFULLY YOU CONTINUE TO SEE THIS THROUGH TO THE END! :D

a;lskdjfgh I have no idea what this chapter was... it just sort of... happened... Ok, the shots that she used/will be/has not used took a heck of a long time to come up with but then I had them planned out before I wanted these two to play ._.

**I have questions for you at the end! Please answer them! :O**

Also, as a note, if you haven't realized it already, I write the Japanese names as last name and then first name. I just feel like that that was the way these names were intended to sound when being read :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing but one character, some of the skewed plot and some of the character relationship-thingies or whatever you want to call them... everything else belongs to Konomi Takeshi x.x

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Tennis

..

"I need to play _some_ tennis before I go crazy here. I'm surrounded by it every day and yet I haven't played at all. Any ideas who I could train with before I get all rusty and useless?"

"You're never going to be rusty and useless," the tall coach scowled lightly, "In fact, you have been quite useful here if I daresay."

She rolled her eyes, "That's not what I asked."

Saitou chuckled a little, "Yes, yes. I know," he thought for a moment, "Try finding Sanada. I think you will find his return set quite interesting. That is, if you can convince him to use them against you."

"Sanada? Emperor Sanada Genichirou?" she raised an eyebrow. Was it a coincidence? Not likely. "Why?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. If I say anymore, I'm giving away classified information," the coach smiled at her, "But that's only if he is willing to play them against you."

At this, she grinned, "I see. I'll convince him, no need to worry about that," and with that, she left the room.

"Indeed," he sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, "It's about time you met your match, Yuria… both of you."

.oOOo.

"You want to play tennis," it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I do. You need some training before tomorrow anyways, right?" Yuria huffed a little.

Sanada could only stare. This tiny, frail girl wanted to play against _him_? Where had she been? Not in Japan, obviously. Either that or she lived under a rock and had never heard of the three demons of Rikkaidai who won two consecutive junior high national titles.

Still, no harm came in just rallying. It would help him warm up a little, for tomorrow. He _could_ just ask Tachibana… But then, he already knew Tachibana's playing style. Wait. Was Sanada Genichirou trying to convince himself to play against her? But then, he was already pulling on his baseball cap and grabbing his tennis racket.

He arrived at the doorway to his room, still unsure as to how it happened that he agreed to play tennis with her. She seemed to be in the same mindset, staring at him and blinking with her head cocked to one side. No, not even she had expected it to be so easy to convince him. Sanada nodded curtly and shut the door behind him before following her out of the dorms.

.oOOo.

The sun was sinking in the sky, casting long shadows and tinting everything orange in its waning light. The lights over the court were on already although, for now, the sun still overpowered them.

"You serve," Sanada stated flatly before walking onto the court.

She nodded before pulling her long hair up into a ponytail and securing it with a hair tie. Well, he was making this easy for her to convince him to show her his return set. Despite this, Yuria knew that it was going to be anything but easy.

She tossed the ball high and watched the bright yellow sphere sail lazily up before coming down again. She slammed her racket against the ball, sending it rocketing over the net, "Sakura Typhoon."

.oOOo.

Sanada had been, out of habit, searching her stance, her movement, anything that would give away the trajectory of the ball. What he wasn't prepared for, was the explosion of flower petals that seemed to burst from her racket upon impact. He was instantly engulfed and pummeled by a cyclone of cherry blossoms that spiraled around him in great arcing paths. In short, his world had literally turned pink.

But where did the ball go? Oh. There. He saw it. A yellow blur that was one moment obscured by the pink whirling mass and the next moment visible where the petals were sparse.

Now he was running towards it. He had been delayed by surprise for a split second too long. He wouldn't be able to get a good hit out of it. He could return it though. He could do that much. He didn't have time to set his stance properly. He angled his racket and sent it across the net with a solid popping sound.

.oOOo.

Her eyes flashed a little. It had been so long since she had played tennis. Actually _played_. It was more like only two months, but it all added up, especially when she was constantly surrounded by it. Yuria had to grin at Sanada's momentarily surprised expression and she actually laughed a little when he returned her serve. The flower petals had dissolved by now and they were rallying easily, light-heartedly.

It was fun and she enjoyed it, but this wasn't what she had requested to play him for. Coach Saitou had said that she would find Sanada's return set interesting, and she was determined to make him show her.

She approached the front of the net, noting the way his eyes flickered at her movement. Yuria ran to meet the next ball that came over before setting her stance. Face the opposite corner. Racket up high. Wait for it… Down. As fast as you can.

.oOOo.

He watched as she sprinted towards his next shot, taking in every action, trying to figure out what she was going to do. Oh? A high speed diagonal slice. Sanada reached for it, prepared to send the ball bounding over the net again. The racket came in contact with air. With a popping noise, the ball came bouncing back down to the court from the bleachers. His attention went from the girl across the net, to the ball and then back to her again.

"Crane Dance."

Was she smirking? As Sanada retrieved the ball, a corner of his lips twitched a little. He had no idea of her full strength but he knew, at least, that he would not be bored.

..

Continuing to ask these questions (if you've already answered one, you don't have to answer again... unless you want to, in that case, I can't stop you)

**Love triangle? Yes or no?**

**Do you want to see the continuation of this game in detail?**

On another note, why do I always post new chapters on a Sunday evening? -.- you don't have to answer that...

R/R! (Please and thank you!)


	11. Chapter 11

So... New Prince of Tennis hasn't updated in... a long time... .; and for those who haven't seen the raw scans yet, I won't spoil anything... I'll just say that the game after Kintarou's will be... interesting to say the least...

Also, I kind of sort of just realize that in the anime they have Sanada like... legit- "ladies-and-gentlemen-_this_-is-how-you-pillow-fight" joining in... oh well... I don't keep up with the anime at all so I had no clue o.O Sorry for any such discontinuity! (I also found out that he got himself a black eye or something... that's why he has the eye-patch on... no cuts or anything as far as I've seen... darn...)

Disclaimer: All of the recognizable characters belong to Konomi Takeshi, all unrecognizable characters belong to me (unless they're hella OOC... hopefully they're not...)

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Don't Win, Don't Lose

..

When was the last time he had played tennis like this? When was the last time he had played without a single care of whether he won or lost? When was the last time he had played just for the sake of playing?

_Too long._ Sanada leaned on the bleacher seat behind him, acutely aware of the sweat running down his body. He thought back to mere moments before when, after a particularly taxing rally, she had started laughing and he had even allowed himself a small smirk. After that, through some sort of unspoken agreement, they eased up.

Neither one of them trying to win or best the other. Sanada felt that he… understood, in a way, why she had asked him to play tennis with her. They were reasonably well-matched. He had never thought he would have to pull his return set against such an opponent. _FuuRinKaaInZanRai. _It was something he had taken the past two and a half years to perfect. He pulled his hat off and raked his other hand through his sweat-damp hair.

..

"_Swift like the wind." Surely, with that return would best his opponent. When had he started thinking of her as an actual opponent? Wait. He hadn't?_

"_Drown in the rain."_

_The sensation of thousands of drops of water battered him as the ball came back over the net towards him. He mentally made a note that it was only because her move was used to counter _Fuu _that it was unremarkable… like how rain slowed the wind._

..

Yuria stretched her arms behind her back. The old man had been right. Their respective return sets seemed to be made to counter each other. She bit back a grin. It felt good to play again, without a care in the world. Back when there were no tournaments, no training, no victor and no loser.

..

"_Freeze like ice." It was a move meant to seal, to render the other motionless._

_A raging black aura came rocketing over the net. "Invade like fire."_

_It was a normal shot… only when it was used against _Hyouga.

..

"You know, they used to call me the Dragon Queen because of my return set."

He turned to her and raised his eyebrows, "Dragon Queen?" Sanada thought 'Queen' wasn't the best term to describe her…

"Who knows?" she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them, "Americans…"

"Oh." _America? Come to think of it, there had been a rumor of a girl they called "the Queen"…_

..

"_Silent as the forest." She wouldn't even be aware of the shot coming until it landed…_

"_Deafen with thunder."_

_Sanada blinked in surprise as his body reacted on its own._

..

He lifted his hat to eye level and looked it over, dusting it off a bit.

"Hey."

The teenager grunted in reply, inspecting the nicks and tears in the worn fabric.

"That hat… where did you get it?"

Sanada tugged it back on, "Someone gave it to me… don't remember who."

"You've taken good care of it, if it's been that long that you'd forget," she observed.

"Less than I should have," he shrugged.

She lifted a hand and ran a finger over the chipped brim of the black hat, failing to notice the way his eyes widened at the action. "I think… that whoever gave it to you… they would be happy to see that you wear it a lot."

He watched her out of the corner of his eye, "What makes you say that?"

She withdrew her hand—he almost regretted asking—"Hats are meant to be worn… especially if they're gifts," she smiled, "If someone gave you that, they must have wanted you to wear it."

..

"_Crush like an earthquake." A shot usually used to break defense._

"_Strong as the mountain."_

_Yuria watched him set a solid stance at the baseline. The next thing she knew, she was dashing to the other side of the court to catch up with the spinning yellow globe. Or not.., she thought._

..

She pulled out the elastic band, and shook out her hair with a sigh. The way he had completely nullified _Jishin_, earthquake, had left her almost speechless. Yuria smirked. Saitou must have known this would happen. How many times had he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and said that, one of these days, she would meet her match?

..

Sanada was suddenly struck with a ridiculous notion. Thank goodness he had gotten in the habit of mentally reviewing his actions before executing them. He wanted to touch her; to reach out and tuck long strands of black silk behind her ear. It was absurd. He swallowed and forced himself to look away from her.

..

"_Strike like lightning." He had made that returned without a second thought, on instinct. _Rai _was a shot that only Yukimura and Echizen had been able to break so far. And suddenly, he realized that he didn't want her to miss this shot. He didn't want her to lose this point. If she did… then they would be back to winning and losing… and that was something, Sanada realized with a jolt of his consciousness that he didn't want to happen. Not here. Not with her._

"_Shatter like glass."_

_His eyes flickered. Perhaps, he need not have worried._

..

"It's getting late," he tilted his head back to see the dark sky from under the brim of his hat.

"It is… sorry I've kept you this long when you have a game tomorrow."

Sanada raised an eyebrow. Was it his imagination, or did she actually sound embarrassed? No. That was impossible. Since when did he start imagining people being shy? Never, as far as he could remember.

Presently, the mellow sound of a saxophone floated down to them in the night air.

"Ah," she perked up, eyes bright and a smile on her face, "Irie-senpai."

"Irie Kanata… we didn't send 'reinforcements' to that one," he said it more to himself than for anyone else to hear.

She cast him a sidelong glance, "He lost against Atobe."

Sanada blinked, "Did he," he believed it too. Atobe's cockiness was not unfounded. That is, assuming he had improved.

The lilting melody continued to envelop them, "He always plays to calm himself."

He looked at her again and was struck, if only a little, by the curve of her throat and the light dancing in her eyes. Sanada realized that he was staring and, after taking a breath of air to reclaim his composure, tore his eyes away from her lithe, slender form. Instead, he found a pebble on the court worth his intrigue if only to keep his attention from wandering back to her.

..

"_Blind with the sun." It was the last of her return set. She didn't know why she had used it. Yuria supposed that if they could nullify all of each other's previous attacks, there was no reason to not go all out and empty the reserves._

"_Formless like the shadows."_

_Yes, she was right. It was a wonder, really, that they each had one counter that played the weakness of the other and rendered it into a normal shot. Then again, there had been that monstrous black, writhing cloud that he seemed to have mastered while on the cliffs. She let loose a laugh when she returned _In _with an easy backhand._

_No matter. Something told Yuria that her opponent wasn't going to use it for this match. And, as far as that went, they were even._

..

Sanada Genichirou had sat through "the talk" before. In fact, he had heard it at quite a young age from his older brother. At that point in his life, all that mattered to him was kendo, iaido, tennis, and classes. He wore his black baseball cap backwards because it was cooler that way and listened to every word his cool older brother had to say to him. At that point in his life, the only differences between boys and girls were that girls had longer hair (with the exception of Yukimura and Renji ), cooties, and didn't fall over from pain when they were hit… well… _there._

He had heard everything from his older brother and thought that logically, it made sense. Despite this ready agreement to what the elder of the Sanada brothers said, Genichirou had thought that he would never be physically or mentally attracted to a girl. Ever.

But now, here, at fifteen years of age, Sanada Genichirou had caught himself staring at a girl for the first time.

…

Not really.

He had stared when Higashidani Kiora scored the lowest marks in their class. He had stared when Irinaka Shiori had tripped and fallen because she, in turn, had been staring at Niou. He had also stared at Omori Emi when she fainted during a frog dissection (which Marui had also done, apparently). This wasn't the first time he had stared at a girl. This _was_ the first time, though, that he stared at a girl because he thought she was pretty and played good tennis.

A corner of Sanada's mouth quirked up in a half-smile, "Tarundoru," he whispered to himself.

..

"I'm getting soft?" she teased, "Or you're getting soft because a girl played evenly against you?"

Yuria watched with amusement as his eyes widened and a faint tinge of pink spread across his cheeks. He hadn't realized that she'd heard him.

"Well," she decided to put him out of his misery, "I think we'd better get going. Get some rest. You have an important match tomorrow, right?"

Sanada swallowed and nodded curtly before picking up his racket and standing. He stood there for a moment, taking in the way the court seemed to glow in the blinding stadium lights. After a moment's thought, he turned to her and held out his hand.

Surprised would have been an understatement. Yuria stared at his proffered hand before directing her gaze to his face. She was perplexed. Surely, he wasn't actually… He looked away.

She allowed a smile to spread over her features before gently sliding her hand into his large one and pulling herself up with his strong, firm grip.

..

Yay for fluffiness! and awkward Sanada! xD

Also, hooray for writing magic tennis! Although, I can't exactly describe Sanada's... like the action for "Invade like fire" as best as I can come up with is "spinning, swirling black aura with three different poses and a smash-looking finisher" or something to that extent...

Glass is a natural insulator and therefore not a conductor of electricity if you're wondering where I got that :P

Thank you to everyone who responded to me! (and those of you with your constructive criticism/corrections, they're much appreciated!)

Thank you for reading!

R/R Please and thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

And this is what happens when I write the first half of a chapter while listening to Sanada's version of "Valentine Kiss"...

Sorry this took so long to post up. There's still some awkward sentences here and there but a;sldjfkgh

I own nothing... except for Yuria...

..

Thoughts

..

Since when did Sanada Genichirou hold hands with girls? Albeit, he had only pulled her up… it was a sportsmanship thing. That was all he had meant by it. It was polite to help someone up, right? Yagyuu must have been rubbing off on him, he decided, scowling. He was back in his room, lying in bed with his arms crossed under his head, deep in thought.

The Sanada everyone else knew would have reasoned that if someone had two working legs then they could get themselves up … gender indiscriminate. It was probably why girls had stopped trying to confess to him halfway through his 2nd year… at least, as far as he was concerned.

* * *

_He dropped her hand as soon as she stepped onto the court from the bleachers. There was a faint heat creeping up his neck and he turned away from her abruptly and began walking back towards the dorms. Sanada glanced back occasionally, making sure that he wasn't walking too fast for her._

_At some point, they had reached a pathway where the lights had stopped working. It wasn't until he was completely enveloped in the inky night that he realized this. He blinked several times as though the action would make the darkness go away. Sanada turned around. Where had she gone? He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them as wide as they would go. Damn it all if she had gotten lost._

_He was about to start back along the path to find her when something struck him in the chest, hard. Sanada twitched before his entire body went rigid at the contact. He nearly dropped his tennis racket. It was the equivalent of a lesser human being leaping at least a foot into the air. On instinct, his hand shot out to grasp the perpetrator… and closed on a shoulder less than a foot away from him._

_"Ittee… Gomen ne, Genichirou," a familiar voice came from the owner of the shoulder, "Since when did the lights stop working?"_

_Sanada shut his eyes and waited for a moment before opening them again. There. It wasn't the best but at least he could see her now. He let out a sigh that was something between relief and exasperation. "Pay more attention," he said._

_A hand grasped his wrist before slowly travelling up his arm until it reached his shoulder, "Well, at least I found you," she laughed._

_Thank God it was too dark to see clearly here. He could only hope that she hadn't felt his sudden rise in heart-rate. Since when did he associate a sudden rise in heart-rate with her? What was making him react like that anyways? Sanada stared down at her, his eyes tracing the faint, grey, fuzzy outline of her face before coming to a rest on her eyes. He felt himself being drawn into the way they still managed to shine in the darkness._

_Had Sanada Genichirou been any other boy (with the exception of Tezuka Kunimitsu), he would have laughed with her or at least smiled and pulled her into a hug. Unfortunately, this was Sanada Genichirou, so no such thing happened. Instead, he took his hand from her shoulder and reached up to his own, removing her hand._

* * *

The thought that she might have been fairly well acquainted with the U-17 grounds had never crossed his mind. Well, either that or he had opted to ignore it… or cease all reasonable thought before it came to that. He sighed. The latter _did_ make sense. His mental processes seemed… off, around her.

Lately, he had taken to analyzing their various encounters before going to sleep at night. Thus, he had come to the realization of his lack of reason when it came to thoughts involving her. Why was it just her? Why did everything else fade into the background when he thought of her?

He was thinking… that if the owner of the hand hadn't been her… would he even have taken it in the first place?

_Probably not._

If it had been anyone else, he would have just shrugged it off and maybe scolded the other person with a, "Tarundoru."

Would he have even bothered caring if she got lost?

_That was unlikely._

She would have found her way back eventually by herself. Besides, the camp was high-security if what Kenya had said was anything to go by.

So really, there was no danger. So why? Why did he care? What made him turn around and try to find her? Why hadn't he let go?

* * *

_It seemed to be a trend… thinking absurd thoughts about her. Well, it was too late for that now; especially when they were walking back to the dorms together in the dark._

_Wait._

_Where did she stay anyway? For a moment, Sanada nearly convinced himself that she was a spiritual entity that inhabited the U-17 grounds. It did explain her uncanny presence on the cliffs, right?_

_"Good night, Genichirou. And good luck, tomorrow… not that you'll need it," she laughed and with a light squeeze of his hand, left him standing there in the hallway, dumbfounded, staring after her as she disappeared down the hallway._

* * *

He lifted his hand and stared at it, the palm still tingling from the contact. His fingers closed around the phantom warmth left from her hand.

"Hey, she's actually really _pretty_."

Sanada sat up a little and looked towards the other room occupants from his bed. It wasn't that hearing that statement was strange. Hardly, actually, when Sengoku was one of his roommates. What _was_ unusual was that it was said in Tachibana's voice. Sanada stared at Fudomine's captain who was currently lying in the top bunk on the other side of the room, head and shoulders hanging over the edge of the bed, holding Sengoku's cell phone.

"Of course she is. Do you doubt my taste in girls?" the Yamabuki player crossed his arms.

Gin was silent.

"Huh… that looks like the U-17 grounds though. This picture was pretty recent?" Tachibana handed the device back to its owner.

"But of course. I took this picture just earlier today," Sengoku, seemed to notice that Sanada had been watching them and approached the stoic vice-captain of Rikkai, "Do _you_ want to see, Sanada-san?"

He blinked, "Why would I."

"Wait," Tachibana jerked his head up from the railing on his bed, "You mean to say that there's a girl at the U-17?"

"Tarundoru," Sanada coughed, "They wouldn't let a girl in." Nope. Not at all. What a silly idea. Letting a girl in.

"Indeed," Gin spoke up from the bunk under Tachibana, "Sanada-han is right."

Sengoku ignored the exchange, seemingly more appalled by the idea that Sanada didn't want to see the picture, "Ne, you don't trust me, Sanada-san?"

He scowled lightly and merely stared at the other boy.

"Come on, even Kippei-kun said she was pretty," Sengoku egged him on.

Tachibana, who had been in the midst of agreeing with Gin about how he wouldn't want An to be at the camp interjected, "Hey, hey, I don't remember agreeing to be on a first-name basis with you, Sengoku-san. And what's that supposed to mean, 'even' I said she was pretty?"

"Sorry 'bout that Tachibana-san," Sengoku grinned, "Just take a look, would ya? It won't kill you just to take a look. It's not like you're actually with your buchou?"

If looks could kill… Sengoku would rather have been hit by Gin's 108th level Hadoukyuu than die by the glare he was receiving from Sanada. But, as it was, although Sanada's glares could send people running, they couldn't kill. Thus, Sengoku was unfazed.

"So… what kind of girl _do_ you like, Sanada-san?" the Yamabuki player leaned down, holding himself up with an arm propped against the top bunk.

"Let me guess," Tachibana, with one eye shut, pointed at Sanada as though shooting an imaginary gun, "yamato nadeshiko."

Yamato nadeshiko. The epitome of traditional Japanese beauty… He blinked.

"Ah, you're good, Tachibana-san," Sengoku said frankly.

The captain of Fudomine laughed, "It's not that hard, Sengoku-san. This _is_ Sanada-san we're talking about, after all."

Sanada sighed and cast his eyes skyward. Of all the days for this conversation…

"Well, if it's a yamato nadeshiko…" Sengoku looked back at his phone, "she does look like one."

The next thing he knew, a glowing phone screen was thrust into his face. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, she was the only girl he had seen thus far at the camp. There was no reason for it to be anyone else. And yet…

Large, dark eyes looking away into the distance, lost in thought. Lips turned up in a small smile. A simple red and white polo with a black and white tennis skirt clung to her lithe form. Long, sleek legs propped on the bleacher seat in front of her. A black tennis racket leaned against the side of a leg. Black tendrils of hair stirred in the invisible breeze. Chin cupped in delicate hands, elbows resting on knees.

No one in the room could help but laugh when the notoriously serious Sanada Genichirou's face colored upon seeing the picture. Even Gin chuckled a little at the expense of the vice-captain of Rikkai.

"Maa, Sengoku-san. Did you get to talk to her?" Tachibana asked, rubbing an eye and avoiding Sanada's pointed glare.

Sengoku straightened languidly, "Me? Of course not," he glanced down at his phone before stuffing it into his pocket, "She probably didn't even know I took this picture."

"Sengoku-han, that's discourteous," Gin scowled a little, "… although she _is_ pretty."

"You're right, I probably could have at least gotten her name," Sengoku smirked, "If you see her around, introduce me, yeah?"

Sanada said nothing.

"Come on, don't be selfish."

Still nothing.

"Tell you what, if I meet her first, I'll introduce her to you, too."

Gin snorted, "Sengoku-han, do you really think you'll get an answer to that?"

Sengoku shrugged, "Well, it was worth a try," he shook his head, "Really, you'd think the guy really _doesn't_ like girls."

Tachibana, for his part, scooted away from the edge of his bed when Sanada nearly started shooting Yagyuu's laser beams out of his eyes, "Sengoku-san. I'd start running, if I were you," he said, running a hand through his short, blonde hair.

The Yamabuki player blinked owlishly, "Why?"

"Or you're going to find out why Rikkai's regulars try to avoid losing at all costs," Gin stated gravely.

The orange-haired tennis player glanced at Rikkaidai's fukubuchou, "I was just saying… I mean, I don't think I've ever heard him say anything about girls, so I thought…"

At this point Sanada practically growled.

Sengoku cleared his throat, "Well then… I think… I think I should go see if Akutsu returned that book for me, yeah?" With that, the boy was gone with a speed that would have made Oshitari Kenya jealous.

Sanada sighed and lay back down amidst Gin and Tachibana's renewed laughter. He stared at the bottom of Sengoku's bed, perhaps hoping to glare holes into it… no that wouldn't do. If there were holes, it would increase the danger of the other boy falling through. Better not to let that happen. He didn't need _anyone else _trying to sleep on him. Not after the caves… It made him sick just thinking of it.

Waking up in the middle of the night, finding someone huddled against him. Turning over and seeing… _Koharu. _His eyelid twitched involuntarily at the memory.

He nearly sat bolt upright at another thought. Sengoku had a point. What _was _her name?

..

Thank you for reading! Please review! :D

Whoop! More fluff~ And for **Dalia Inscription **who specifically "hoped" for this to be in Sanada's pov, hopefully this made up for the lack of Sanada pov :P

That last sentence was inspired by a guest reviewer who pointed out that our favorite Rikkai vice-captain by some stroke of I-don't-even-know-what has neglected to get her name...


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